BMW G 310 R: More facts and yet another launch indication

After months of speculation BMW Motorrad has officially revealed its growth plans for India, including the proposed launch of the G 310 R and G 310 GS motorcycles contract manufactured by TVS Motor in India.

In the run up to the debut of this 313cc bike being manufactured by TVS on a separate line at its Hosur plant, BMW will have an initial line-up of 11 imported bikes on offer for Indian buyers. This will include models from its adventure, sports and heritage lines. The German motorcycle brand will also set up six more dealerships by end 2018, in addition to the four that have been established this year. New dealerships are set to come up in cities such as Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Hyderabad.

According to BMW Motorrad officials, the G 310 R and the G 310 GS will be launched by the second half of 2018. The plan is to ramp up the dealer and service network before rolling out the motorcycles. Plans would also include increasing local sourcing of components to lower the cost of production. The dedicated assembly line at TVS’s Hosur plant is already manufacturing the G 310 R and G 310 GS for international markets. While the G 310 R has already been launched and is being sold in markets such as the US and in Europe, the G 310 GS will soon follow, The TVS plant will be the primary manufacturing base for the bikes and will soon ramp up production to cater to domestic demand.

The G 310 R, which will be the first locally made bike to make it to showrooms in India has many firsts to its credit. It is the first modern BMW Motorrad bike under the 500cc engine size class. It is also the first BMW bike to be manufactured entirely outside Europe.

The G 310 R was created with the intent to help BMW Motorrad break into new markets where a sub-500cc engine was a key metric. BMW officials point out that the motorcycle will still meet with the stringent quality and performance standards of the German brand.

The G 310 R is a naked, street bike, and the G 310 GS will be an adventure bike based on the former. The G 310 R’s design and construction is meant to allow both relatively short and tall riders to sit comfortably and find a fairly upright riding posture. The bike’s wet weight (fuel, oil and coolant filled) is expected to be about 159 kg. So, handling and maneuverability in city riding conditions shouldn’t be difficult.

Though the India-spec version of the bike is yet to be fully disclosed, it is expected to be pretty close to the European-spec. The G 310 R has typical roadster proportions and looks sporty even standing still.The bike’s 313cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder engine produces 33.6bhp of peak power and 28Nm of peak torque. The European-spec’s redline is set at 10,500rpm. The engine’s tilt to the rear and the cylinder head, which has been rotated 180-degrees helps lower the centre of gravity and shifts it to the front wheel.

The low-set slightly longer than average aluminium swing arm helps improve stability despite the compact wheelbase of the G 310 R. More info on the India-spec G 310 R should be available at the Auto Expo 2018 in February next year. In the meanwhile, as part of its strategy to improve visibility for the brand, BMW Motorrad is participating in the India Bike Week festival to be held in Goa in November.

Part of the Munich-based BMW group, BMW Motorrad is one of the most successful premium motorcycle manufacturers in the world today with six consecutive years of growth in numbers. The company is expected to close this year with sales of over 1,50,000 units. BMW’s bikes cover the six main categories of Adventure, Tour, Sport, Roadster, Heritage and Urban Mobility. It’s current portfolio has 27 motorcycles and scooters, and includes the electric C Evolution battery-powered scooter with a range of 100kms per charge. BMW motorcycles are currently sold in 90 countries through more than 1,200 dealers and importers.The company currently has five production facilities including two in Germany, one each in Brazil and Thailand, and two partnerships, one each in India and China.

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